Rod of the Heart

by Cebelius

  Ephe's stone camouflaged legs shot out to envelop Master. In a ruby flash, Prada expanded in four directions. Two spikes caught the legs just beyond shoulder-width on Master as a third pseudopod glued itself to the floor. The fourth was a spike that stopped just below Ephe's breastbone.

  The spider queen's strength began to crush the ruby slime's pseudopods, but they'd slowed her enough for Master to put his own strength into play, and her legs stopped as the muscles across his back and shoulders bulged.

  Everyone froze, and Ephe tilted her head down to look at the threat hovering just under her chest.

  "You have a powerful familiar," she said, as though she weren't engaged in a stand-off, and her legs weren't trembling in a continued effort to close around Master's body.

  "Apparently," he said, and his voice was steady despite the shiver in his muscles as he kept her legs at bay. "Will you take the deal or not?"

  Ephe's legs ceased trembling and retracted. As they did so, Prada's limbs also shrank back on themselves, all save the one that had attached itself to the stone floor. Master glanced curiously at the stone camouflaged legs, then slowly lowered his hands.

  "I consent to have your familiar deliver me your seed," Ephe said after another moment's silent consideration.

  Master backed away, and Prada slipped off of him and assumed a shape not unlike a drop of water on the stone.

  That's easily twice the size she was when Master made his deal in the throne room.

  Euryale watched as the ruby slime glided to the nearest of Ephe's legs and saw it wind its way up and out of sight behind the two stone legs she used to pull her trapdoor trick.

  Master backed up, glancing down at his feet to avoid the webbing, until he was just past Euryale. She glanced up at him with a look of concern and he set a hand on her shoulder as though to reassure her and said, "We'll be on our way in a moment."

  Turning her attention back to Ephe, Euryale noticed that the giant spider queen had begun to tremble. A ruddy bloom of color was rising in her upper chest and cheeks, and her eyes, despite their lack of pupils, seemed to be whirling as the color in them shifted from deep red to lighter shades bordering on pink.

  Her mouth dropped open as all her legs began violently quaking, and then with shocking abruptness they gave out and she collapsed to the floor as she cried out in unmistakable ecstasy.

  As she panted, Euryale heard her whimper, "Oh no ... no more ..."

  The chiton supporting her breasts split like a beetle's carapace and hinged down to her sides as she moaned and leaned back against her own abdomen, squeezing her breasts with both clawed hands as though in doing so she were holding onto her sanity. Her entire body trembled as she quaked with pleasure. The pink in her eyes whirled again, the shade continuing to lighten as her mandibles spread wide and she let out a high, piercing scream.

  When the scream ended, Ephe slumped against her own bulk, eyes completely gray, and a glistening fluid trail crept out from behind her slack stone legs. A few seconds later, Prada reappeared, running like water on glass across the stone toward Master.

  "Was that really necessary?" he asked, his expression bemused but not unhappy.

  The slime paused a few feet away and its bulk shifted left, then right as though pondering before it fizzed, "No, but I felt you'd appreciate not being the only one made to cum in front of an audience. Not to mention at the moment she's in no position to welsh on your deal. Given her assault, I thought it prudent.

  "Do you not approve?"

  Master thought a moment then chuckled and shook his head. "No ... no, I'm good. Props."

  Prada's bulk bounced and spiked in all directions, then landed with a soft plop before she glided over and ran up Master's leg to resume her shape as a silk sash.

  Giggling broke out to one side, and Euryale glanced over in time to see Yuri's jaw drop as he started to laugh uncontrollably, pointing shamelessly at Ephe. Mila's eyes were wide as she looked at the unconscious spider queen with a hand over her mouth, and even Marcus had his head tilted to one side, digging at a spot just behind his ear.

  Shy was grinning from ear to ear as she said, "Shall we retrieve Marcus's weapons and go? There's no telling how long she'll be out."

  The shield was easy, it had been left just a few feet from the hole the queen had been hiding in. The mace on the other hand, was a lost cause as Marcus himself said, "Dropped it in the crevasse."

  "I'll cover you," Laina said, patting the big minotaur on the back as he picked up his shield.

  "Thanks."

  Marcus put his shield on his back, then turned and Euryale watched him walk up to Master and stop, staring down at him for a long moment in silence.

  He offered his hand. When Master took it, the minotaur said, "We have shared battle, and now blood. Henceforth, you are my brother. We are family, Terrence Mack. You will never want for my help as long as I live."

  Euryale watched as Master's expression softened, and he nodded. "I won't lie; you're in for some shit, Marcus. Tying yourself to me may be the worst decision you've ever made."

  Marcus' lips turned down in a thoughtful frown as he shook his head and said, "Naw. You're one of the good ones. I don't mind."

  "One question?" Master asked.

  Marcus tilted his head up and quirked a brow.

  "What the hell is your last name?" Master asked plaintively. "It's been buggin' me for a week now."

  The minotaur chuckled and said, "Mayweather. Marcus Mayweather."

  "We are burning daylight. Let us go!" Yuri said as he picked his way toward the cave entrance.

  Marcus nodded one last time to Master, then turned away to take his place at the head of the column.

  Euryale stepped up next to Master and looked after the big man as she said, "You certainly have a way with people."

  She glanced up at him in time to see him shake his head. "Not really. It's just, the more I deal with people in this world, the more convinced I am that ... this place is worth saving. A place that makes men like him," he nodded toward Marcus, "can't be all bad. I still don't know the full story behind why he joined the Kolenkos, but I get the impression he did it because he cares."

  "And me? Am I really worth saving? Or is it just my power you want? I'm okay with it! I just ... I want to know."

  She knew that she was evil. It wasn't a question, it was something she knew with unerring conviction, just as she knew that he was her opposite. How could she be a heroine? All the world, all of every world, had been made her enemy eons ago.

  She had not sealed herself away in Medusa's tomb for any noble reason, as he seemed to think. She simply knew that there were ways to make her life miserable, and those ways would be found and exploited if she led a more public life. Killing people — no matter how enjoyable — just caused her trouble in the long run, and she'd grown weary of it long before Zeus had banished her and her sister Stheno here. Yet now she stood hip to hip with a real hero, and he'd made her his own. He believed in her goodness, something that she knew didn't exist. But being with him made her want to be good.

  It made her want to try.

  He set a hand on her neck and rubbed it, making her moan as his strong fingers worked into the muscle there. He cupped the back of her head, turned her face to him, and kissed her lightly.

  "I died a failure, love. You, and Shy, and Laina ... all of you have become not just my obligation, but my chance at redemption. You give me hope, you keep me sane. I will do everything I can for you. You're worth it."

  Then he winked at her and said, "Your power doesn't hurt either. Watching you work was awesome."

  His hand slipped off her shoulder as he walked away, and Euryale folded her wings tightly around herself for a moment and closed her eyes as she savored the memory of his touch, and even more the kindness of his words.

  21

  Stick to the Plan

  Terry expected it to be daylight when he finally saw light at the end of the tunnel, but when he stepped out into the open air
it was to see moonlight streaming down through the trees.

  They had made up for lost time by practically running through the tunnels, following Marcus' unerring sense of direction. They'd encountered another small group of zone beasts and dispatched them without a problem. Now the group spread out to take in the area around the entrance to Sub-Cel, and after a long moment Shy spoke up.

  "The trees tell me the area here is flooded with zone beasts. The Arch-Locutor is about a mile away toward the city. Right now it's not moving."

  I had completely forgotten she could talk to trees.

  "Well, that is convenient," Yuri said, clearly impressed. "I was just wondering how we were going to find it."

  Shy nodded and said, "I will guide us there. Please follow me and move quietly. I believe I can avoid an encounter."

  He looked at her closely and could tell that she was beyond fatigued. Laina had carried her the last several miles through the tunnels, and as it was she leaned heavily on her staff.

  "Laina?" he asked, glancing over at the minotress. "Please keep carrying Shy. She's done. Just follow her directions."

  "Sure, Boss. No problem."

  Laina leaned down and murmured in Shy's ear. The dryad had looked as though she wanted to protest, but after hearing Laina she simply nodded and draped herself across the minotress' broad back.

  The trees in this part of the forest were not as big or broad as the ones in the old wood where he'd first encountered the dryad, and there were frequent clearings and a lot of undergrowth. They moved slowly, but following Shy's directions encountered no one and nothing as they proceeded. The woods were unnaturally quiet, and Terry's grip on his ax shifted as he ground his palms into the haft with nervous tension.

  He wanted to ask what would happen to the zone beasts once the Locutor died, but he was afraid he already knew the answer. There was no way he could see to avoid it; even if they succeeded they'd be unleashing a horde of ravening monsters on the country.

  All because I walked my stupid ass into town.

  Gritting his teeth, he glanced around and then returned his attention to where he was putting his feet. No one else seemed to have any trouble keeping quiet, but he wasn't a woodsman by any stretch of the imagination, and though there was moonlight streaming down through the trees it wasn't nearly enough to keep him from constantly almost stepping on twigs and dry branches.

  He'd gotten into the habit of setting his toes down first, and then settling his foot as long as he didn't feel anything sharp. It didn't exactly work, but it was the best he could do.

  Mila and Yuri moved like ghosts, and even Marcus seemed to glide through the trees with only the occasional chink of shifting armor. Laina wasn't wearing any armor, and she seemed to have better night vision than he did, because she wasn't constantly stepping on twigs.

  Euryale had the best dark vision out of anyone, and she had no trouble keeping up and keeping quiet.

  'Master?'

  Yeah?

  'As you may not be aware, I feel I should tell you that despite the extra step, you seem to have a new bond. Your blood has grown more powerful, and ... there's something else.'

  Prada waited for him to respond, but he was putting all his concentration on not making noise and didn't bother until Shy held up her hand and patted Laina's shoulder urgently to get her to stop.

  They all did, and he took the moment to refocus.

  You going to tell me or make me guess?

  'You're no fun. Your musculature has changed its composition. Essentially, your fast twitch is now ... vastly improved.'

  Better reflexes then.

  'Better reflexes, and ... to put it in terms you'd understand, let's just say you could dunk from the three-point line.'

  He blinked, then grinned and sank into a half-squat, testing the feel. He was sore, but despite that felt strong. His earlier strength gains had taken him by surprise, but this felt qualitatively different. His legs felt like coiled springs underneath him, ready to send him anywhere he wanted to go.

  Fucking awesome.

  'Be careful, Master. I wanted to warn you before combat begins. If you over-extend, you could leap INTO trouble instead of out of it.'

  Yeah ... remind me when this is over you've got a LOT of explaining to do.

  'Happy to. Focus, Master. They're moving again.'

  Stepping carefully, Terry set out. Fifteen minutes later, Shy stopped them again, then had Laina crouch as she slid off. She turned and waved Yuri and Terry to her. Both men came and she crouched and said, "I am not sure we should do this."

  "We're doing this," Terry said. "Remember what I told you in the atrium."

  Shy grimaced, then shook her head. "You don't understand, Tee. This isn't just some cat with a staff. I wasn't sure before, but now I know. The Arch-Locutor in the clearing ahead of us is a behemoth."

  Yuri's eyes widened, and Terry frowned and said, "How big can it be? Is it Astur-sized or something?"

  "It is big, but not that big," Yuri muttered. "The problem is that behemoths are extraordinarily deadly. They are incredibly well-armored, they can crush mortals under their feet, they have dozens of tentacles, they use magic, and they are practically impossible to catch by surprise. That explains why there are so many zone beasts all over the place. This thing can open portals. It has been gating its troops in."

  "What, like, teleportation?" Terry asked.

  Yuri nodded. "Something like that. Ask Mila if you want a treatise. Fact is, I am with Shy. These things can take on small armies."

  "So they're smart?" Terry asked.

  Yuri gave him 'the look,' and said, "That is putting it mildly."

  "Okay, so they can be tricked. We just need a plan."

  Yuri blinked, then looked at Shy as he asked, "Is he serious?"

  Shy sighed and nodded. "I'm afraid he is. What do you have in mind, Tee?"

  "Well, first I need more information. Does it have a weakness?"

  "Its eyes are its principle weakness," Yuri admitted. "But they are also its source of strength, and very hard to reach. Each eyeball has several actual eyes, and as long as any one of them is still active, the behemoth can still see. It has four eyeballs, one on each side of its body. If it is young — say less than five hundred years old — it will have twelve eyes in those four balls, but if it is older, it will have more, and each eye has its own power."

  "My first thought is just send Euryale in," Terry said, shrugging. "She'll turn it into a rock and we can focus on cleaning up the beasts in the forest afterward."

  "I am not certain that will work," Shy said. "Behemoths are extremely powerful."

  "So was Volai."

  Shy frowned, clearly not liking the plan. "Okay, so we send her in. What if it doesn't work?"

  Terry ran his hand over the short hair on his head as he gave it some thought. The description they'd given him of the monster didn't really give him much to go on. It sounded more bizarre than anything he'd seen yet.

  "Are these eyes big?" he asked. "I mean the eyeballs? You said each has multiple eyes, so how big is the whole thing?"

  Yuri frowned in thought for a moment, then gestured with his hands, describing a size a few feet around. Then he shook his head and said, "There are two problems here.

  "First, Euryale is our only archer. We need her to hit those eyes, and you are sending her in close. Second, if she fails, we cannot go in after her. If you use her curse it is all or nothing. She would turn us to stone as soon as we came into range to help her."

  "I keep hearing my name," the gorgon said as she stepped over and crouched on her haunches. "You want me to go kill it for you?"

  "That's the idea," Terry said, glancing around at the others as he added, "There's some doubt about whether or not your curse will work on this thing."

  "Master, please. Perseus used my sister to kill Cetus, a divine beast sent from Poseidon himself, and she was dead. I am very much alive. I will have no trouble handling whatever this thing is as long as it has eyes t
o see."

  "It has eyes," Yuri said, chuckling. "Lots of them."

  Euryale shrugged and stood as she said, "Point the way. I will give the mask to master, and he will tell you when it is safe to approach."

  Terry glanced around and said, "We good?"

  "We have no viable backup to this plan," Yuri warned. "The spiders were one thing. This is something else. We should back off and come up with a better strategy."

  "Do you doubt my power?" Euryale asked, her tone entirely too sweet to be genuine.

  Yuri's lips compressed, and he shook his head. "No."

  "You don't need a backup plan," Euryale said, touching her chest with a brazen claw as she said, "I am all my master needs. He wants this thing dead, it will die. I will see to it."

  Several of her snakes hissed, and she stood and beckoned Terry as she said, "Come with me, Master."

  Terry frowned, looking at Yuri for a long moment before he said, "If this shit goes sideways, get out. We'll regroup later. Shy, which way is the road from here?"

  The dryad shrugged and said, "Head downhill. You can't miss it."

  He nodded, then stood. "I trust her. You should too."

  "This is not about trust!" Yuri hissed. "It is about getting everyone out of this alive!"

  Euryale paused, then turned to glare at Yuri as she said, "I can't die, tiger man. As long as I am the only one to go, you are in no danger. Follow my master's instructions."

  She turned away, and Terry followed her, swallowing his misgivings. It wasn't as though he didn't think Euryale could do it — he was confident she could — but it rubbed him wrong to go against Yuri's advice. When it came to tactics, he'd been rock solid from the outset.

  Still, at least this way no one dies, no matter what. Euryale can't be killed. I don't want to risk anyone else if I don't have to.

  Soon the two of them came in sight of the clearing where the behemoth stood, and Terry got his first good look.

  The thing looked like it was wearing forest camo, and its central mass was the size of a fight cage ... if that fight cage were suspended on four legs, each articulated like a spider's and twice as thick as an elephant's.